Philly Pretzel Factory to open 25 locations in Manhattan

First shop will be near the World Trade Center

A single pretzel from the Philly Pretzel Factory, which will hand out free pretzels for National Pretzel Day on April 26. Philly Pretzel Factory was founded in 1998 by Daniel DiZio and Len Lehman.

The Philly soft pretzel will soon be vying for market share in New York City, a town traditionally dominated by pastries and bagels.

On Monday, Philly Pretzel Factory, the Bucks County-based company that has established a foothold in 19 states, announced it will open 25 stores in Manhattan over the next several years, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported.

The 25-unit deal, negotiated with Tribal Ventures, will begin with a location near the site of the World Trade Center, marking Philly Pretzel Factory's first store in New York City.

Since opening his original shop in Northeast Philadelphia in 1998, Philly Pretzel Factory founder Dan DiZio has expanded to 172 locations around the country, the majority of them franchises. The company relocated its headquarters to Bensalem earlier this year.